Paris Is Building Its Tallest Skyscraper in 40 Years

Paris Is Building Its Tallest Skyscraper in 40 Years

Paris Is Building Its Tallest Skyscraper in 40 Years

Once completed, the Tour Triangle will the the third-tallest building in Paris and the tallest skyscraper to be built since the 1970s.

Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron

The project to build Paris’ first 21st-century skyscraper and the tallest building to be erected in the city in 40 years hit a major roadblock when the Paris City Council voted it down last November. But this week, the council voted to give the Tour Triangle (Triangle Tower) project, designed by Basel, Switzerland–based architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, the green light.

Once completed in 2017, the skyline-altering 43-story tower will stand at 591 feet, making it the third-tallest structure in Paris after the Tour Montparnasse—roundly seen as one of the ugliest buildings in Paris, if not the world—and the tallest of them all, the 988-foot Eiffel Tower.

The tower will be 75 percent office space but will include a sky bar with a view of the city’s tallest building, the Eiffel Tower.

Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron

The Tour Montparnasse so traumatized the aesthetic sensibilities of city residents that it ushered in building height limits in 1977. But a change in city planning law in 2010 loosened the restrictions, and the tallest residential building in Paris in 40 years was completed in May.

The new design plan for the Tour Triangle includes a 120-room hotel.

Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron

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One of the criticisms of the initial design was that Paris didn’t need a giant office tower in the middle of the city. To address those concerns, the interior design scheme was tweaked to devote 25 percent of the building’s real estate to other functions.

The new design scheme includes a 13th-floor restaurant.

Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron

The Tour Triangle, located at the Porte de Versailles in the 15th arrondissement, includes a 120-room hotel, a large co-working space, a panoramic sky bar and restaurant, a public atrium and conference center, and a health clinic and child care center for local residents, according to the building’s website.

The architectural scheme includes the addition of local commerce for residents and the 7 million annual visitors to the Porte de Versailles conference center in an effort to integrate the tower into the existing landscape.

Courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron

So it’s happening. Now we just have to wait and see what this monumental piece of architectural pie will do to the Paris skyline.